The International Dimensions of Democratization in Egypt: The Limits of Externally-Induced Change by Gamal M. Selim (review)

The July 2013 military ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi clearly marked the failure of Egypt’s attempt to realize a transition to democracy following the 2011 mass uprisings. Since the end of the Cold War, Egypt has undergone several failed attempts at democratization and political liberalization processes. A deluge of research has focused analytical attention on domestic factors, such as the role of the military, the lack of a credible opposition, and the weakness of transitional institutions. Domestic sources of authoritarian resilience matter, of course. But so, too, does international and regional dimensions.

Whereas the international dimensions of democratization in Latin America, as well as Eastern and Southern Europe, have attracted scholarly attention, Middle Eastern cases remain underdeveloped in this area of inquiry. The book under review provides a rich empirical analysis of the international dimensions of democratization in Egypt during the period extending from the end of the Cold War until the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Whereas the conventional literature looks at the Middle East as a penetrated system influenced by Great Powers, this book is distinct in that it shows how other factors — such as the global economic system, the global civil society, and waves of diffusion—were not conducive to a genuine democratization process in Egypt.

The book is divided into nine chapters, the first of which introduces the topic. The second chapter presents a literature review examining the conventional explanations of democratization processes in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt. In chapter 3, the author suggests a conceptual framework delineating the spectrum of external factors with democratizing effects on domestic settings in developing countries. The framework identifies three types of pressure: structural, relational, and normative. The first type is based on conditionality, whereby global institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, link financial and economic support to the adoption of free-market policies. This conditionality is based on the assumption that economic liberalization leads to the formation of alternative centers of power within authoritarian regimes that could challenge the existing structures. The second type is relational pressure, which focuses on the influence of certain actors in the international system, namely “Great Powers” and “Global Civil Society.” The third type of external pressure is normative, entailing the “diffusion” of political experiences and democratic ideas from one country to another.

Following a detailed historical overview of Egypt’s struggle for democracy since 1952 (chapter 4), the conceptual framework serves to examine the role of external factors in Egypt’s transition from authoritarian rule. In chapter 5, Selim examines the influence of the global economic system on Egypt’s democratization during the post–Cold War era. He concludes that Egypt’s integration into the global economic system had a negative impact on the democratic process. On the one hand, these policies created a new rent-seeking elite allying with the regime and alienated the middle class, thereby diminishing demands for political liberalization. On the other, the application of structural policies required a strong regime, which indirectly bolstered authoritarianism.

In chapter 6, Selim examines the influence of US and European democracy promotion efforts in Egypt, with emphasis on civil society assistance programs. Chapter 7 focuses on the transnational dimension of democracy promotion stemming from cross-border interactions between Egyptian movements and “Global Civil Society,” such Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Freedom of Human Rights. Although these relational pressures were successful in creating a public space in Egypt, these did not lead to a genuine democratization process. Chapter 8 examines the role of “diffusion” on Egypt’s democratization. The political transformations in some Arab countries, Algeria and Iraq in particular, provided models of democratization associated with violence, mass killing, and sectarianism. This image led civil society groups in Egypt to join the regime in repressing political Islam movements, what Selim refers to as “the privatization of repression” (p. 127). Even...